An underwhelming student awaits...

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hello! So, I'm a rising senior at a pretty prestigious, highly competitive, nationally ranked high school in New York City. I'm deadset on majoring in English, and I'm letting all the colleges I'm applying to know that so that they disregard my abysmal math grades (kidding, kidding). Nearly all the colleges I'm applying to are in NYC, because my parents refuse to let me move more than 30 minutes away from them.</p>

<p>Gender: Female
Ethnicity: Southeast Asian (Bangladeshi)
Location: New York
College Class Year: 2013
High School: Public (but it's a specialized high school, which means you have to take a competitive exam to get in. The year I got in, 40,000 students took the test, of which only 5,000 got into 3 specialized schools. Their basic classes are like honors in other high schools.)
High School Type: sends many grads to top schools
Rank: School doesn’t rank</p>

<p>Academics:
+ GPA - Weighted: 3.60 (I think)
+ Class Size: 1126</p>

<p>Classes:
+ Sophomore Year: Honors English
+ Junior Year: AP English Lang Comp (5 on AP exam) ; AP U.S History (3 on exam); AP US. Government (3 on exam)
+ Senior Year: AP Comparative Government; AP English Literature; AP Psychology; AP Economics; AP French.</p>

<p>Scores:
+ SAT I Math: 620
+ SAT I Critical Reading: 720
+ SAT I Writing: 780
+ SAT I Composite: 2140
+ ACT: 32 (99th percentile)
+ ACT English: 36
+ ACT Math: 29
+ ACT Reading: 35
+ ACT Science: 26 (yikes!)</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:
+ The Radish – School satirical newspaper for which I wrote articles; 9th/10th.
+ Fencing Club – I was offered an automatic position on the school team, but I couldn’t because the equipment was too expensive; 9th/10th.
+ Drama Club – Regular member in the 10th grade, but president in 12th grade.
+ Outreach – 9th – member; 10th – webmaster; 11th – webmaster; 12th – president.
+ National Honor Society – Junior Chairperson of Communications.
+ The Survey – School newspaper for which I wrote articles; 11th/12th.</p>

<p>Leadership positions:
+ Webmaster of Outreach.
+ President of Outreach.
+ President of Drama Club.
+ Junior Chairperson of National Honor Society.
+ I think there’s something else I’m forgetting… :/</p>

<p>Volunteer/Service Work:
+ 300+ hours of volunteer work/community service in nursing homes and animal shelters. I’m also chairperson of the nursing home volunteer program.
+ 20+ hours of charity walks, school events, and organizational aid.</p>

<p>Honors and Awards:
+ Junior Chairperson of National Honor Society - (in a school with 4500+ students, it's pretty hard to gain recognition. =/)
+ #17 in the region – National French Contest</p>

<p>College Summer programs:
+ Sociology course at BMCC; I recieved an A for the class.</p>

<p>Other:
+ Recommendations: Set to be pretty spectacular from two of my English teachers who pretty much worship my writing. One of them actually has a corkboard at home with all my previous work pinned on it. There’s also one from my math teacher who says he’s going to balance my terrible math grades by explaining that I’m an “inquisitive” and “stimulating” student who can, one day, “change the world for the better”. :D
+ Essays: Almost finished with them, and they’re pretty good!</p>

<p>Colleges:
+ University of Chicago
+ Columbia University
+ New York University
+ Yale University
+ Fordham University
+ St. John’s University
+ St. Francis Colleges
+ St. Joseph’s College - You’ve probably never heard of this college, which is okay, because even if I get in with a full scholarship and a troupe of angels to herald my admission, I’m not going. Period. This is only to please my parents and my sister, who is a student there.
+ CUNY Hunter
+ CUNY Brooklyn
+ Macaulay Honors College at CUNY Baruch – This is where I want to go the most because the perks are amazing and the academics are right up there as well. I spoke to the admissions officer from Baruch at a college fair that was held at my school and he said that the admissions officers at Macaulay may overlook my less-than-impressive GPA because I come from such a competitive high school and because my standardized test scores are pretty nice.</p>

<p>Okay, so I know my chances at most of these colleges are very low/nonexistent, but I can dream, right? If you guys need any more information, let me know.</p>

2

<p>Do you go to Stuyvesant? (Sounds like it)</p>

3

<p>Well, I don't really want to give away what school I go to, but let's just say that it's either Stuyvesant, Bronx Science, or Brooklyn Tech. Either way, all three are relatively prestigious. </p>

<p>Chances, por favor? =)</p>

4

<p>I can see your passion in English, which is really good. The only slight problem I see here is the GPA. A 3.6 weighted isn't really that good, but it sounds like your school is competitive so if you are around the top 5% of your class, i'd say it would be ok.</p>

<p>With that being said, Uchicago, Columbia, and Yale are reaches.
Fordham and NYU are matches.
The others I'm not too familiar with but they are probably anywhere from low matches to safeties.</p>

5

<p>I agree with sak09</p>

6

<p>Thank you for the feedback! I actually guessed the same for myself, except I placed NYU as a reach. But hey, I like your evaluation better!</p>

<p>Anyone else? I'd appreciate it if you'd put my mind at ease.</p>

7

<p>Set to be pretty spectacular from two of my English teachers who pretty much worship my writing. One of them actually has a corkboard at home with all my previous work pinned on it.</p>

<p>haha that's so cute! my ninth grade teacher kept most of my writing in the "stellar works shoebox." but there was only one other paper in the box before mine haha. </p>

<p>fordham's a match, u of chicago's a slight reach, yale's a reach, nyu's a reach, and macaulay @ baruch is a match. your recs and sure-to-be stellar essays can be overlooked because your other stats are pretty good, so i think you definitely have a chance. also, if there's an interview, that's also a great time to shine. the others... i don't know.</p>

<p>also, can i ask why so much hate for st. joseph's lol? (i've never heard of it)</p>

8

<p>like 1/5 of my school goes to st.joe's
yay! long island pride? xD</p>

9

<p>You're going to Baruch!</p>

10

<p>Yay, I like what I'm hearing so far! All the responses match what I thought when I selected the colleges.</p>

<p>As for St. Joe's (Brooklyn campus; sorry, no Long Island pride! xD), it depends on your taste. The standard of academics is pretty mediocre, the teachers are all old farts, the student body is not diverse in the least (and most of them are cliquey), not to mention the college overall is TINY. I’m used to big and bright and competing for the attention I deserve. At St. Joseph's, the slightest flash of intelligence will earn you a gilded statue on the front lawn; this means that everyone is being extolled for no good reason!! <em>end rant</em></p>

<p>But all of the above could just be my prejudices. From what I hear from my sister, it’s not all bad. And I’m sure the Long Island campus is much better! (trying to save face here) =D</p>

11

<p>Boooooomp.</p>

12

<p>I liker your username:) Please forgive this post's irrelevance.</p>

13

<p>Thank you! It stems from my childhood belief that whales do not exist.</p>

<p>boooomp.</p>

14

<p>Class size of 1000+? You definitely go to Tech! (Sorry for giving it away ;p)
Stuy posts the college admissions stats every year. The list includes GPA and SAT scores for each student and whether they were accepted, rejected, or deferred (if they applied ed/ea). Access is limited to students but I took a look at the stats for you.
I'd recommend applying to their Honors college ED since it IS your top choice. You're basically a shoo-in for M. Honors ED if you apply early and have a 94+ GPA, but with your SAT scores, I'm sure a 91+ will do as well if you show interest by contacting admissions deans. You could also take a College Now course at Baruch this fall.
As for NYU, most kids I know have gotten in even with 88 GPAs. Keep in mind that Baruch Honors is free, while most graduate from NYU deep in debt.
Yale is definitely a super-reach unless your SAT Math score goes up by 120ish points AND your GPA is 98+. But even then, you can't be sure.
UChicago is also a reach. You'd need about a 96+ GPA to have a safe shot. They have a very competitive applicant pool.
You can take a look at this for reference:</p>

<p>UChicago surprises
WaitList (2008) 96.7 760M 780V
Rejected (2008) 94.2 800 740</p>

<p>Yale, from highest GPA, down:
WaitList (2008) 97.9 780 740
WaitList (2007) 97.7 730 760
Accepted (2008) 97.7 800 750
Rejected (2007) 97.3 770 690
Rejected (2008) 97.2 800 780
Rejected (2007) 97.2 800 710
Accepted (2007) 97.1 750 770
Accepted (2007) 97.1 750 800
Rejected (2007) 97.1 770 710
Rejected (2008) 97.0 800 760
Rejected (2007) 97.0 740 800
Rejected (2008) 97.0 740 760 </p>

<p>Baruch Honors ED:
Accepted (2008) 93.6 730 760
Accepted (2007) 93.2 620 800
Accepted (2008) 92.3 660 800
Accepted (2007) 87.8 650 610
Rejected (2007) 84.9 540 800
Rejected (2008) 83.0 600 730
Rejected (2007) 80.3 610 750</p>

15

<p>can you please explain the stats?</p>

16

<ul>
<li>University of Chicago- Big Reach</li>
<li>Columbia University- Big Reach</li>
<li>New York University- Match</li>
<li>Yale University- Big reach</li>
<li>Fordham University- In</li>
<li>St. John’s University- In</li>
<li>St. Francis Colleges- In</li>
<li>St. Joseph’s College - Who cares lol</li>
<li>CUNY Hunter- In</li>
<li>CUNY Brooklyn- In</li>
<li>Macaulay Honors College at CUNY Baruch- Low reach (but I think you will make it)</li>
</ul>

<p>My thoughts: While you go to a very competitive high school, colleges still care about GPA. A 3.6 isn't bad, but at Ivies you will face stiff competition from other applicants who went to top high schools and pulled off 3.9s and 4.0s. Also, your ACT and SAT scores are good but not as high as those of many Ivy league applicants. My guess is that with great essays UChicago would overlook this, which is why I think this is an awesome place for you to apply. Columbia and Yale are worth the application, but don't count on acceptance. Baruch Honors isn't guaranteed, but I think that you can make it in (especially because they are in-state and will understand the prestige of your high school).</p>

<p>Best of luck to you!</p>

17

<p>If you're underwhelming, there's no word for me!</p>

18

<p>Take a look at Bard, Goucher. Good programs there.</p>